Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Sulu was a Human Starfleet officer in the 23rd century. He served as the physicist and helmsman aboard the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] during its historic five year mission and later as helmsman aboard the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)|USS Enterprise-A]] before being promoted to Captain when he took command of the [[USS Excelsior|USS Excelsior]]. Hikaru Sulu was born in the city of San Francisco, Earth, in 2237. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek Chronology) The Five-Year Mission Sulu in 2265.]] In 2265, Lieutenant Sulu was assigned to the starship Enterprise, serving as a physicist, and head of the astro-sciences department. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before") By 2266, Sulu had transferred to the operations division and was assigned to helmsman station with responsibilities as shift tactical officer. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver") In 2266, Sulu, along with most of the other Enterprise crewmembers, came under the effects of the Psi 2000 intoxication. During this period he fancied himself the reincarnation of D'Artagnan, imperiling other crew members with a fencing foil. (TOS: "The Naked Time") That same year, Sulu would for the first time in his life travel back in time to visit Earth's past. The Enterprise was accidentally sent into the past by a near collision with a black hole. The ship was detected by the United States Air Force. Captain Kirk and Sulu beamed down to retrieve the photographic evidence of the Enterprise. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday") In 2267, Sulu and the rest of the Enterprise crew were overcome by the effects of the spores on Omicron Ceti III. Sulu desired to leave Starfleet to live on the planet, but was eventually convinced otherwise. (TOS: "This Side of Paradise") When the young Ensign Pavel Chekov was assigned to the Enterprise in 2267, he took over the position of Tactical Officer from Sulu. The two would become life-long friends. (TOS: "Catspaw") :Both Helm And Navigation Stations were able to access weapons and shield functions, accordingly both helmsmen and navigators in all 3 seasons of the Original Series, including Chekov and Sulu, would share this "Tactical" officer function. .]] In 2269, the crew of the Enterprise had been reduced in size by spiroid epsilon waves emanating from a planet that was the location of the Terratin colony. While in miniaturized state, Sulu broke his leg from a fall off the bridge. Dr. McCoy, assisted by Nurse Chapel, helped to heal his leg. (TAS: "The Terratin Incident") In 2270, Sulu, McCoy and Uhura were trapped in the holographic recreation room, when the ship's computer began exhibiting aberrant behavior following the Enterprise's passage through an energy cloud. (TAS: "The Practical Joker") Later that year, the Enterprise entered an anti-matter universe. The crew experienced accelerated reverse aging, and Sulu was reduced to infancy. Following the vessel's return to normal space, Sulu and the other crewmembers were returned to their normal ages, by use of the transporter. (TAS: "The Counter-Clock Incident") Later Career Continued service aboard Enterprise Upon the Enterprise's return to Earth in 2270, the vessel entered drydock to undergo an extended refit and Sulu was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 2272, Enterprise Captain Willard Decker was relieved from command by now-Rear Admiral Kirk. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) :It is conjectured that Sulu continued to serve aboard the ''Enterprise for a second five-year mission under James T. Kirk.'' in 2272.]] Sometime before 2285, Sulu was promoted to Commander and accepted an assignment teaching at Starfleet Academy. During this time he "served" aboard the Enterprise, now a training vessel, under the command of Captain Spock. Later that year, in response to the threat from 20th century genetic tyrant Khan Noonien Singh, Sulu served as Conn Officer aboard the Enterprise. Following the incident, the Enterprise was officially retired. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) In the novelizations for both Star Trek II and Star Trek III, Sulu was to become the commanding officer of the USS Excelsior when he returned from the Enterprise's training mission; however, because of the Genesis incident, Admiral Morrow had his orders rewritten, and command of the Excelsior was given to Captain Styles instead. However, Admiral Kirk and his senior bridge staff stole the Enterprise from Earth Spacedock, to save their friend Spock, who had given his life to save the Enterprise following the encounter with Khan. His katra, implanted in Dr. McCoy was successfully merged with his body on Vulcan. Their mission was successful, but the Enterprise was sacrificed orbiting the Genesis Planet. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) In 2286, Sulu piloted the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, [[HMS Bounty|HMS Bounty]], as the Enterprise crew returned to Earth to face certain court martial. Upon their arrival, they found Earth under the attack of an unknown alien probe, which was later determined to be attempting to communicate with the long-extinct humpback whale. The Enterprise crew travelled back in time, to Earth's 1986, in an attempt to locate a humpback whale and to thus save Earth from destruction. in 1986.]] While in the past, Sulu, Scott and McCoy were assigned to convert the cargo bay of the Bounty into a whale tank. To accomplish this, the three visited Plexicorp, a plexiglass manufacturing plant. There, in the Plexicorp yards, Sulu discovered a Huey 204, a ship which he had a nostalgic admiration for. He described it to its pilot, as like something he flew in his Academy days. Sulu was able to borrow the Huey to carry the enormous panes of plexiglass, that Scott and McCoy procured, and hauled them across San Francisco, to Golden Gate Park. Upon his return to the helm of the Bounty, Sulu had difficulty remembering how to fly the bird-of-prey after being used to flying the Huey. Following the dismissal from their court martial, and while en route to their new assignment, Sulu was counting on being assigned to the [[USS Excelsior|USS Excelsior]]. He was pleased, however, to be assigned to the newly commissioned [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)|USS Enterprise-A]]. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) One year later, while the Enterprise was still in spacedock, she and her crew were assigned to resolve a conflict on Nimbus III; the planet of galactic peace. There they found Sybok, Spock's half-brother. He commandeered the Enterprise and travelled to the center of the galaxy, where he hoped to find "Sha Ka Ree". (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) Excelsior In 2290, Sulu was promoted to the rank of Captain, and offered command of the [[USS Excelsior|USS Excelsior]]. Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand was assigned as the ship's Communications Officer at Sulu's request. (VOY: "Flashback") In 2293, the Excelsior, nearing completion of a 3-year mission cataloging gaseous anomalies in the Beta Quadrant, encountered a subspace shock wave resulting from the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis. The Klingon Empire was thereby forced to negotiate peace with the Federation. Following the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy were accused of the crime, and sentenced to life-long prison sentences at Rura Penthe. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) In violation of Starfleet orders, Sulu decided to mount a rescue of Kirk and McCoy. Ensign Tuvok confronted Sulu about the breach of orders, but to no avail. in 2293.]] To conceal the Excelsior's approach to Qo'noS, Sulu ordered the Excelsior through the Azure Nebula, and it was there that the vessel encountered a Klingon battle cruiser, commanded by Captain Kang. In the ensuing battle, Dmitri Valtane was fatally injured. To evade Kang, Sulu ordered that the volatile sirillium gas in the nebula be ignited. After escaping the Klingons, Captain Sulu reconsidered the situation, and aborted the rescue mission. He never entered the incident into his official log. (VOY: "Flashback") :Details of this incident should be taken with a grain of salt though, considering the neurological maladies suffered by Tuvok in his later years, not least of all a memory virus infecting this area of his brain. The Excelsior would, however, play a key role in the Khitomer Conference shortly thereafter, by assisting the USS Enterprise-A in its battle with General Chang's prototype Bird-of-Prey, and by preventing the assassination of the President of the United Federation of Planets. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) In 2344, a "Captain Sulu" sponsored Chakotay's entry into Starfleet Academy. (VOY: "Tattoo") :Although Chakotay just mentioned a male "Captain Sulu" in "Tattoo" and Hikaru would be 107 years by then, it is entirely possible that he was referring to Hikaru Sulu since a human life span could exceed 100 years in the 24th century. (For example Leonard McCoy lived to at least 137 years of age.) It has been suggested that as Sulu would have then spent 50 years as a Captain by this point it is equally, or more, possible that it was simply another person entirely. However, since Jean-Luc Picard held the rank of Captain from 2333 to at least 2379 (a total of 46 years), the idea of an officer holding this single rank for such an extensive period of time is canonically plausible. Another theory suggests Chakotay was referring to Demora Sulu, but this contradicts Chakotay's labeling Captain Sulu as a "he". Another theory suggested by the novel Pathways was that the Sulu named in "Tattoo" was Hiromi Sulu, grandson of Hikaru. Relationships and Family While visiting the planet Megas-Tu in 2269, Sulu learned to master their powers of magic. Utilizing this magic, he conjured for himself a beautiful female companion. As the two prepared to leave the bridge, Uhura wished him "good luck", only for the female companion to suddenly change form into Lucien, who scolded the crew for misusing the magic. (TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu") :This seems to imply that Sulu was, at the time, single. Sulu had at least one daughter, Demora, who was born in 2271, and later assigned to the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)|USS Enterprise-B]] in 2293. She held the same position as her father, at the ship's helm. (Star Trek: Generations) :The script for ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home called for a scene shortly after Kirk told his crew to break up because they looked like a cadet review, Sulu encountered a young Japanese boy who mistook Sulu for his Uncle Hikaru. Sulu tells him that he must be mistaken, and then asked the boy his name, which was revealed to be Sulu Akira, Sulu's great-great-grandfather. The Japanese boy was hired for the movie but failed to play his part so that the scene could not be filmed. This scene was retained in the novelization of the movie. The novelization, like the ones for the second and third films, also maintained the - apparently abandoned - minor storyline that Sulu had been promoted to captain, but was delayed from assuming his prospective command because of involvement with Kirk.'' :According to Sulu's character file in the Star Trek Starship Creator computer game, Sulu had a wife named Yoshiko, who was Demora's mother. There was no indication of a date of divorce or death, so if the information is accurate, Sulu is still married as of ''Generations. :The novel "The Captain's Daughter", on the other hand, indicates that Demora was the product of a brief encounter with a mysterious woman named Ling Sui and that Sulu was not even aware of his daughter's existence until eight years later when Ling Sui died of Sakuro's Disease. The Lost Era novel "Serpents Among the Ruins" apparently supports this story since it also mentions Demora's mother having died of Sakuro's disease, though other aspects of the novel are contradicted by "Flashback". Personal Interests Sulu was an avid botanist and spent much of his off hours tending to his rare and delicate plants which he had collected from all over Federation space in the Enterprise's Botanic Garden. (TOS: "The Man Trap") By adulthood, he was a recognized expert on the subject of antique firearms and small arms, especially Earth projectile weapons. (TOS: "Shore Leave"; TAS: "The Slaver Weapon") He also enjoyed swordplay, in particular fencing, and the activity reminded him of some of his favorite characters of Earth history, namely the French Musketeers and the Japanese Samurai. (TOS: "The Naked Time") Sulu was also an advanced judo practitioner and capable of defending himself against opponents much larger than himself. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). He was an excellent pilot and was familiar with many types of vessels, both historic and contemporary. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) Apocrypha *''Three of Sulu's later adventures (during and post-Excelsior) are chronicled in the audio-only Simon and Schuster "Captain Sulu Adventures" series: Transformations, Cacophony and Envoy.'' *''Sulu's first name was given as "Itaka" in the ''Star Trek'' newspaper comic strip. Its use was based on information from the unauthorized USS Enterprise Officer's Manual by Geoffrey Mandel and Doug Drexler and published by Interstellar Associates in 1980. Background Information Sulu was played by George Takei. Sulu's given name, Hikaru, was officially established in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, though it had been used in fan circles since it was introduced in Vonda N. McIntyre's 1981 novel The Entropy Effect. "Hikaru" is a Japanese name that can mean "light" or several other words, and is quite commonly used for men and women. 'Sulu' is taken from a province in the Philippines. In the Japanese version of Star Trek, his family name was changed to 'Kato', a common surname. It is not out of the question that Sulu was born of a Japanese-Filipino couple, taking on a Japanese given name with a Filipino surname. Nor is the fact that most American names are mixed-and-matched, and will likely continue to be diversified for the next four hundred years. Sulu, Hikaru Sulu, Hikaru Sulu, Hikaru Sulu, Hikaru Sulu, Hikaru de:Hikaru Sulu es:Hikaru Sulu fr:Hikaru Sulu nl:Hikaru Sulu